Region's leaders brace for boom

'We have assets to offer the rest of the world' -- College President Paul Brown

ZANESVILLE -- Addressing a consortium of business leaders, local and state government officials and representatives from the oil and gas industry at the E3D Summit on Tuesday afternoon, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor's message was focused on how Ohioans can benefit from the shale industry if they take advantage of the opportunities before them.

"We cannot let our fears undermine our potential (in the shale industry). We have to work hard and work together to meet the needs of all Ohioans, to meet our goal of realizing the American dream. We need to educate our workforce so they can prosper, and have the tools ready for the next generation. We want people to look to us as an example for how we put people back to work."

She also said Ohio's Common Sense Initiative will review Ohio's regulatory system to eliminate excessive and duplicate rules that stand in the way of job creation. The initiative was launched in 2011 to reform the state's regulatory policies.

"We know that excessive, duplicate and costly business regulations can put Ohioans out of work," she said.

"We are confident that comprehensive regulatory reform will help revive Ohio's economy and create jobs by generating a more jobs-friendly environment."

The E3D Summit, an acronym for Energy, Education and Economic Development, was at Zane State College here.

Speakers included Dr. Paul Brown, president of Zane State College, who spoke about his vision for a High Tech Corridor encompassing seven counties within the Marcellus and Utica Shale Formation. Elements of the future corridor encompass an advanced science/technology center, higher education institutions, a job-ready site, the future Cambridge (Zane State) campus, the 1-70/77 interchange, vast resources of oil, gas, wind and agriculture, public and private partnerships, public/private investments in world-class broadband.

"A self-sustaining diverse culture develops with regional collaboration and cooperation," said Brown. "We need to have a bit of a swagger ... We have lots of assets to offer to the rest of the world."

The panel for "Realizing the Vision" segment was Dr. Joseph Shields, president of Ohio University; Norm Blanchard of the Guernsey County Community Improvement Corporation; and State Sen. Troy Balderson. It was moderated by Brown.

"We learned a lot from Seth Alberts (of Williamsport, Pa.). We knew nothing about the shale gas industry until he shared information about what happened in Williamsport was going to happen in eastern Ohio ... and we had better get ready," said Blanchard.

"We don't want to get carried away with all this excitement. Although we are optimistic about what is in store for our area, we want to make sure we meet the needs of people and businesses who have been in the community for many years, have made tremendous investments in their companies and have created jobs. That's very important to the people in Guernsey County."

Attendees also heard an "Overview of the Oil/Gas Industry" from Rhonda Reda, executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program; Larry Wickstrom, state geologist; and Shawn Bennett, field director for Energy In Depth Ohio. Moderator was Linda Woggon, of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking about "Opportunities Ahead" for eastern Ohio were Seth Alberts, CEO of Alberts Spray Solutions in Williamsport, Pa.; David Mustine, general manager of JobsOhio, a new agency created by Ohio Gov. John Kasich; and Amy Rutledge, director of Carroll County Convention & Visitors Bureau and Carroll County Chamber of Commerce. The session was moderated by Rebecca Heimlich, of Ohio Energy Resource Alliance.

In closing, Brown reiterated, "We don't have our hands out, we have a lot of energy to offer ... One of two key components for our success is regional collaboration and cooperation and a skilled, educated workforce."